SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Sanford International opens to the public on Thursday, but some of the tournament’s stars have already been mixing it up around town.
Gabriel Rivero, owner of Tarquin Argentinian Restaurant, welcomed golf pros Angel Cabrera and Ricardo Gonzalez to his dining room Monday.
Rivero said there was a reservation made Monday, and when the group turned up, he recognized someone, but it wasn’t a professional golfer. It was one of their caddies.
Though it had been a full year since seeing him, Rivero had remembered the face of the caddie, who last year caddied for Sanford International runner-up KJ Choi.
“Once I know a person, I don’t forget a face,” Rivero recalled. “I said, you know, a long time but nice to see you again. Thank you for coming back.”
It was at this point that the caddie introduced his accompanying golf pro. “He said ‘he’s Cabrera,’ and I said ‘who Cabrera’, recalled Rivero. “[The caddie] said ‘Cabrera Cabrera’. There’s only one Cabrera, it’s El Pato Cabrera.”
The man was indeed Angel “El Pato (The Duck)” Cabrera, so nicknamed for his gait as he walks around the course. Rivero said he got goose bumps.
Rivero called Cabrera, who has three PGA Tour wins (2007 U.S. Open, 2009 Masters and 2014 Greenbrier Classic) to his name, very humble and modest. “He just sat down and said ‘OK, we’re starving’,” said Rivero.
The group was soon joined by more, including 2024 Moroccan PGA tournament winner Ricardo Gonzalez. Rivero said he played host, making sure the group had what they needed, though after asking to make sure it was okay, he did call some friends to come meet the golfers.
Both Cabrera and Gonzalez are Argentine themselves, and Rivero knew exactly how to make them feel at home. “I tried to make everything so they enjoyed, you know, the experience,” he said. “I told them, ‘El Pato Cabrera, this is your home — the restaurant is your second home here — anything you need, just let us know.”
While this is one instance of the golf pros out and about in Sioux Falls, it is far from the only one.
“A lot of guys come in Monday and Tuesday of tournament week and really kind of take in all that Sioux Falls has to offer,” said Davis Trosin, Sanford International Tournament Director. “These guys are on the road, you know, 30 weeks a year. And so they kind of have a good routine of wanting to get in and kind of get familiar with the community.”
While golfers are in town, Trosin and his team (working for Pro Link Sports) make sure to help out the pros where they can. “We make a lot of different recommendations of some of our staff favorite places,” he said.
One of these places, for instance, is Morrie’s Steakhouse, just down the street from the Sanford International’s host hotel. One golfer, Trosin joked, “I think has a standing reservation there at the bar every day of the week, so it’s just a lot of fun that these guys are going out supporting the local economy.”
Though Trosin and his team will offer suggestions and help make arrangements for golfers, he says many of them are seasoned travelers. “So they kind of know what they’re doing. I’m sure they use the Yelps and the Googles of the world,” he said. “Somebody talked to me yesterday and said, ‘Hey, I love that Look’s Marketplace. I go there every year’, so they kind of find their local spots.”
These local spots also include places not directly adjacent to golf courses. Josiah’s in downtown Sioux Falls is an example Trosin pointed out, noting that the wives of some visitors made it there on their own a few years ago, saying it was the best little coffee shop in town.
R-Wine Bar is a favorite of some, with Trosin pointing out David Frost as one pro who’d stopped in. “People are really falling in love with our community and why they want to come back here each year,” he said.
If the avid golf fan keeps their eye out, there’s a decent chance they encounter a familiar face around town this week/weekend, and Trosin says you shouldn’t be afraid to say hi.
“They enjoy being recognized, and I think that’s the great thing is we just have such great South Dakota hospitality that people will go out, say hello, you know — [then] they’ll leave them alone, right? They’re not asking for photos or trying to have a ten minute conversation,” said Trosin.
The players, he added, appreciate the recognition. Trosin also added that the Sanford International can be a bit more relaxing for them than some other events.
“They’ve made some decent money in their career, and so now they’re just doing this for the camaraderie,” Trosin said. That’s why there’s events like our pro-am and different things throughout the week — it has a different feeling than going to a PGA Tour event because these guys are still competitive — they want to win, but they also just want to kind of get out there and hear some applause and have people feed into their their egos a little bit because they have to as a professional athlete.”
Events open to the public begin Thursday with the EMC Championship Pro-Am. The Sanford International kicks off Friday with the first round, and the 2nd and 3rd (final) rounds will be Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
